Apple’s Double Trademark Trouble: From HealthKit to iFone

Did Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) steal the name of its recently announced HealthKit data storage platform from an Australian startup? Confirming the many industry rumors about a health-related announcement, Apple unveiled HealthKit at the company’s recently concluded Worldwide Developers Conference. As noted by Apple’s Craig Federighi, HealthKit functions as a repository for users’ health-related data and “provides a single place where applications can contribute to a composite profile of your activity and health.” However, while many Apple investors hailed the Cupertino-based company’s move into the lucrative healthcare industry, Alison Hardacre — CEO and co-founder of Australian startup HealthKit — was dismayed, reports ITNews.

“Apple liked our HealthKit idea so much that they have used our name and launched a new product called HealthKit,” noted Hardacre on the company’s official blog. “Even the way they write it is the same as us. I’m flattered that they like our name so much and that it’s a ringing endorsement for our market opportunity (which we already knew). However, as an Apple fan, I feel let down. They didn’t feel that they had to do a quick domain search — it would have taken 5 seconds to type www.healthkit.com into their browser and discover us.”

According to the Australian company’s website, HealthKit is a “global health platform” that provides “practice and patient management software” for practitioners. It also provides online health management and practitioner directory services for patients. Although Apple’s HealthKit platform is not an exact clone of the service provided by the Australian company, it does appear to be quite similar.